MEMPHIS >> The frustration wore on Kobe Bryant’s face as he saw fouls go unnoticed, shots fall short and momentum shifting out of the Lakers’ hands.

Perhaps the most telling moment happened when the Lakers tried to close a game that did not involve Bryant taking the last shot. That responsibility fell on Lakers forward Jordan Hill, who missed a 27-foot jumper with 27.9 seconds remaining that all but assured a 107-102 loss Tuesday to the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. It also assured the Lakers (1-6) stayed at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Bryant looked upset during the next timeout and talked with Jeremy Lin, who had passed the ball to Hill. But Bryant became much calmer afterward. He chalked everything up to a “misunderstanding.” Bryant defended Hill for taking what he called “a good shot” despite his 13 points coming on only 6-of-17 shooting. And Bryant smiled when he told reporters “to let it go” after a few followup questions.

Meanwhile, Lakers coach Byron Scott blamed himself.

“It was really my fault,” Scott said. “I could’ve given the visual sign as well instead of trying to yell it at [Lin]. I take all the blame for that. That’s not what we wanted for that particular time.”

Scott laughed when asked who should have taken the last shot, the implication obviously suggesting that responsibility falls on Bryant. After all, Bryant’s 28 points on 10-of-26 shooting against Memphis coincided with setting the NBA record for most missed shots with 13,421. That moment happened with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter when Bryant’s turnaround jumper over Courtney Lee rimmed out.

“I’m a shooting guard who has played 19 years,” Bryant said with a smile.

After all, such an approach assured Bryant made history in Memphis four years ago when he became the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer. When the Lakers play in New Orleans tonight, that place will mark the same venue Bryant became the youngest player to eclipse 30,000 career points.

Meanwhile, Bryant’s latest record still casts him in good company. He surpassed Celtics guard John Havlicek, who missed 13,417 shots in 1,270 career games with Boston. Other notable players on the list included Elvin Hayes (13,296), Karl Malone (12,682), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12,470) and Michael Jordan (12,345). That did not stop one Memphis fan from sarcastically saying officials should stop the game and award Bryant the game ball.

“The games that he don’t take shots, people ask why didn’t he take more shots,” Scott said. “He can’t win neither way, which is unbelievable to me for a guy who gives it everything he’s got every single time he’s on the floor. It’s unfortunate because he is one of the greatest competitors that we’ve seen in a long time.”

Bryant hardly sounded as irritated as Scott, only noting that Jordan once took 47 shots in an NBA Finals game. Bryant also playfully moaned about all the missed shots “I had to bail the team out at the end of the shot clock.” Bryant offered plenty of those this season, less than a year after playing only six games because of injuries to his left Achilles and left knee, the latter injury happening 11 months ago in Memphis.

“I remember sitting here right now knowing something was seriously wrong,” Bryant said “If I’m going to be out for a while, I might as well finish this game.”

Bryant maintains he will keep that approach this season even if games end up with final plays that do not involve him.

Mark Medina has been the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News since 2012. He also works as a Lakers insider for AM570 and is heard on national radio outlets, including The Dan Patrick Show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Chris Mannix Show, Fox Sports Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Yahoo! Sports Radio and SB Nation Radio. Medina also appears frequently on Spectrum SportsNet and NBC4's "Going Roggin."

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